WEEK 12- Deliver Us From Evil
MONDAY — Read the passage with your team.
1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight, 2 that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge. 3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; 4 but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. 6 She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not. 7 Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. 8 Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house, 9 lest you give your best strength to others and your years to one who is cruel, 10 lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich another man's house. 11 At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. 12 You will say, "How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! 13 I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors. 14 I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly." 15 Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. 18 May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
20 Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another man's wife? 21 For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths. 22 The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. 23 He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
Proverbs 5:1-15, 18, 20-23
6 Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are.
1 Corinthians 5:6b-7a
17 He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
Proverbs 10:17
What does this passage have to say about accountability?
Why is that important?
TUESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.
1) Proverbs 5 (verses 1-6) describes the true nature and danger of adultery. What is our culture’s attitude toward adultery? Despite God’s commands to avoid adultery (v. 7-8), the blessing and joy of marriage (v. 18), and the “utter ruin” that infidelity brings (v. 14); our culture has overwhelmingly chosen to reject God’s wisdom. Why?
2) What are some of the temptations that you face? In what areas of your life do you struggle to obey God? Why? Do you recognize your disobedience as a rejection of God? Have you sought out a godly person to provide accountability for you in these areas of temptation and struggle?
WEDNESDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.
3) Does God tempt you? What leads you into temptation (Proverbs 5:22-23)? Once you’ve begun to engage in a particular sin, why do you have a hard time breaking the habit (v. 23)? What does 1 Corinthians 5:6 teach you about how habits become addictions?
4) What is the best way to avoid addiction? How can you resist the temptations that form ungodly habits (which them become additions) - (1 Corinthians 5:1-2, 7)? As an athlete and a teammate, what bad habits have you developed? When you struggle with these, do you submit yourself to accountability — ask for help, listen to the counsel you’re given, and put it into practice?
THURSDAY — Discuss the passage with your team.
5) What is the impact of an unteachable athlete on his team (Proverbs 10:17)? Are you faithful in setting a godly example of accountability — working hard (in such a way to honor God), seeking out instruction, accepting correction, pursuing right relationships with coaches and teammates?
6) Once an unteachable spirit takes root and spreads through a team (whether taking the form of laziness, arguments, gossip, or other consequences), what can be done to correct the problem (1 Corinthians 5:7)? How can you “get rid of the old yeast” without disbanding the team? How can a “bad tree” become a “good tree” without chopping it down and replanting? How can a deceitful heart be cured? (We talked about these things back in Week 1.) [The heart is not like trees and yeast. A dead tree can’t come alive again. Bad yeast has to be thrown away. However, God can regenerate peoples’ hearts. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” - 2 Corinthians 5:17] Is there hope, then, for an addict? How so?
FRIDAY — Discuss sport applications of accountability, and pray together.
· Ask your athletes to briefly reflect on what they’ve learned about accountability this week, and to repeat some of those things. (Remind them of some of the Biblical truths about accountability you’ve discussed, if necessary.)
· Ask your team, “Based on what we learned about accountability this week...What does an accountable athlete do?” Do not settle for vague answers; challenge your athletes to go beyond general qualities of accountability, and to determine what those qualities look like in action.
· Add the results to your team’s list of descriptions of the “accountable athlete”, and be sure the list is displayed somewhere that is constantly visible, as a reminder to the team.
· Pray together as a team. Encourage your athletes to pray for your team’s growth in regard to the discipline of accountability — especially in relation to some of the issues and challenges that you discussed together this week. Challenge them to also ask for forgiveness, when applicable. Give time for athletes to request prayer (regarding accountability or anything else), and pray together.
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